Tension take-up device for knitting machines



June 2, 1936. w. D. EACHES 2,042,834

TENSION TAKE-UP DEVICE FOR KNITTING MACHINES Original Filed Nov. so, 1923 ATTORNEY.

' ulated pull thereon.

Patented June 2, 1936 UNITE.

TENT OFFIE TENSION TAKE-UP DEVICE FOR KNITTING MACHINES Refiled for abandoned application Serial No.

322,643, November 30, 1928.

This application Becember 20, 1933, Serial No. 703,318

. 8 Claims.

This invention relates to tension take-up devices for knitting machines, and more particularly to tension take-up devices of the kind employed in knitting full-fashioned stockings for gripping the knitted leg fabric intermediate its length, and tensioning it properly during subsequent knitting of the foot.

This is a refiled application for application Serial No. 322,643, filed November 30, 1928.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel device for the above indicated purpose, which may readily be engaged to, and disengaged from, the fabric by an operator, by the use of only one hand, and without harm to the fabric, even when the latter is formed of the most delicate textile materials; the device being so designed as to provide an equalized strain throughout the Width of the fabric as needed for perfect production.

A further object is to furnish a tension take-up device of this character, including a pivotally mounted clamping bar constructed to permit the operator to actuate the same by either one or both hands, and combined with means for holding the clamping lever in either open or closed position.

With the foregoing objects outlined and with other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises the novel features hereinafter described in detail, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing,

Figure 1 is a perspective diagrammatic view of a portion of a knitting machine, showing the improved tensioning device attached to the fabric while one of the ends of the latter is secured to the needles of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the tension take-up device with its clamping lever in open position.

Fig. 3 is a detail View of a portion of the device substantially as taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2.

In knitting full fashioned stockings, it is customary to knit the leg and heel tabs on a legger machine, and to then transfer the partially completed stocking to a footer machine to knit the foot portion, by outwardly spreading the heel tabs so as to form an extended straight line with the instep loops, and engaging the fabric along such line on the needles of the footer. To properly tension the fabric and take it up as knitting proceeds, devices have been provided to grip the fabric and. its extended heel tabs, and exert a constant reg- Devices for this purpose footer; 4 the tension take-up gripper; 5 the takeup strap; 6 the take-up drum, and "I one of the usual rods of the machine. A usual partially knitted stocking fabric 8, with its heel tabs 9 outwardly spread to form an extended line with the instep loops H), has its foot end connected to the needles 3, and its heel tabs secured to hooks ll forming part of the tension take-up gripper 4.

This gripper is the essential feature of the present invention, and it includes a rigid base bar [2 having a slot l3 intermediate its ends to be connected to one end of the strap 5. Ears [4 are preferably rigidly united with the base bar near one end of the latter, and they may be struck, if desired, from sheet metal and be integral with the base bar, if the latter is formed of sheet metal. These ears support a shaft I5, preferably formed of a screw in order that it may be readily removed whenever desired.

A clamping lever I6 is fulcrumed at one end on the shaft, and includes a relatively long arm I1, and a shorter arm 18, the latter forming a finger piece to facilitate the manipulation of the lever by the operator.

The fabric of the stocking blank may be clamped between the base bar and the lever, and to facilitate such clamping, the base bar is provided with a superposed facing or strip I9 of suitable material, such as rubber, which is secured to the base bar by any suitable means, such as adhesive. The ends of this strip are apertured as shown at 29, to receive short studs 2| on the long arm of the lever, and the base bar is also preferably provided with apertures 22, aligned with the apertures 26 to prevent the studs from contacting with the metal of the base bar, to eliminate the liability of puncturing the fabric.

If desired, these apertures may be backed or closed at their lower ends by patches 23 of soft rubber, that may be secured the the base bar by adhesive.

For the purpose of holding the clamping lever either in closed or open position, a leaf spring 24 is secured to the upper side of the base bar by any suitable means, such as a screw 25,

and the outer end of the leaf spring is spaced from the base bar and extends between the lever mounting ears. This spring for holding the lever closed, will contact with an abutment surface 26 at the inner end of the lever; and for holding the lever in open position, this spring will engage an abutment surface 21 on the hand piece of the lever.

Assuming that the partially knitted stocking fabric is to be applied to the footer, the operator will attach the foot end of the fabric tothe needles 3 of the footer machine. Then the hooks II are attached to the heel tabs of the fabric. At this time, the lever of the clamping device will be held in open position by the leaf spring engaging the surface 21, and the intermediate portion of the fabric will be lying upon the base bar of the clamping device. Obviously, when the operator, by the use of one hand, pushes downwardly on the lever, the long arm of the latter will be brought into gripping engagement with the fabric, and at the same time, the leaf spring will engage the surface 26 to yieldingly hold the lever in closed position.

Manifestly, the knitting may now be continued on the footer, and the gripping device will function without damaging the fabric in any way, and as soon as the knitting operation is completed, and it is desired to remove the fabric, the operator again by the use of one of his hands only, may depress the finger piece of the lever, and. again bring the abutment surface 21 thereof into engagement with the leaf spring.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction, operation and advantages of the invention may be readily understood, and I am aware that various changes may be made in the details disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention, as expressed in the following claims.

, What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a knitting machine fabric tension takeup device, a tension bar for position transversely of the fabric thereunder having a clamp lever ric, a substantially bell-crank lever ,pivotally mounted on said support having a relatively long arm extending in its lower clamping position from said support substantially parallel to the tension bar transversely over the fabric and adapted to be moved to an upper releasing position, said bell crank also having a short operating arm for movement between upper and lower clamping and releasing positions of the lever, and spring means cooperating between the tension bar and the lever for biasing the'lever toward its clamping position after it has been moved a certain distance toward its clamping position and for'biasing the lever toward its full release position after it has been moved a certain distance toward its full release position.

2. In a knitting machine fabric tension takeup device, a tension bar member for position transversely of the fabric thereunder having a clamp lever support for position laterally oifset from the fabric, a substantially bell crank lever member pivotally mounted on said support having a relatively long arm extending in its lower clamping position from said support substantially parallel to the tension bar transversely over the fabric and adapted to be moved to an upper releasing position, said bell crank also having a short operating arm for movement between upper clamping and lower releasing positions, means for clamping the fabric between the bar and lever members and pressing portions of the fabric by one of said members into the other at positions along the members including an apertured portion of one of said members and a portion projecting from the other member for telescopic position in said aperture portion, and spring means cooperating between the tension bar and the lever for biasing the lever toward its clamping position after it has been moved a certain distance toward its clamping position and for biasing the lever toward its full release position after it has been moved a certain distance toward its full release position.

3. In a knitting machine fabric tension takeup device, a tension bar for position transversely of the fabric thereunder having a clamp lever support for position laterally offset from the fabric, a substantially bell-crank lever pivotally mounted on said support having a relatively long arm extending in its lower clamping position from said support substantially parallel to the tension bar transversely over the fabric and adapted to be moved to an upper releasing position, said bell crank also having a short operating arm for movement between upper and lower clamping and releasing positions of the lever, and a cam-like portion between the long and short arms, and a leaf spring secured to the tension bar and flexed against said cam-like portion for biasing the lever toward its clamping position after it has been moved a certain distance toward its clamping position and for biasing the lever toward its full release position after it has been moved a cerwith projections for removable telescopic fitting relation to said one element in said apertures, a yieldable member on the apertured element hav ing apertures registering with the element apertures, and yieldable bodies constituted as bottom closures for said apertures and as means for effecting holding cooperation between said yieldable member and said apertured element.

5. A fabric tension take-up device comprising a tension bar having an anti-friction facing, the facing and bar including portions having aligned apertures extending transversely therein, and a gripping lever pivotally mounted on the bar and having laterally projecting stud portions adapted to telescopically fit said apertures with the fabric between the apertured and stud portions.

6. A fabric tension take-up device comp-rising a tension bar provided with transversely apertured portions, resilient backings for the apertures, and a lever pivotally mounted on the'bar and having laterally projecting stud portions for telescopically fitting said transversely apertured portions with the fabric between the stud and apertured portions.

7. A take-up device for operation with a'knitting machine in tensioning the foot of a fullfashioned stocking blank having a sheer instep and reinforced heel tabs, the inside selvedge'edges of the tabs being adapted for alignment with a course of the instep and for position, with said course, on the machine needles, the device comprising a bar for position across the blank having a pivot support adjacent to one end and apertures disposed uniform distances therealong, welt hooks on the bar for hooking at least one into each of the heel tabs, an element on the bar having apertures registering with the apertures through the bar and constituted as a yielding clamping element for holding portions of the sheer instep in said apertures, a lever mounted on said pivot support having a long arm constituting a clamping handle and carrying studs for pressing portions of the sheer instep intosaid apertures and having a short arm constituting a lever release handle, and a spring operating between the lever and the bar to hold the lever in clamping position at one side of a given location in its path of travel and to hold it in fabric-receiving open position at the other side of said given location.

8. A take-up device for operation with a knitting machine in tensioning the foot of a fullfashioned stocking blank having a sheer instep and reinforced heel tabs, the inside selvedge edges of the tabs being adapted for alignment with a course of the instep and for position, with said course, on the machine needles, the device comprising a bar for position across the blank having a pivot support adjacent to one end and apertures through the bar disposed therealong, welt hooks on the bar for hooking at least one into each of the heel tabs, a flat-strip element on the bar having apertures registering with the apertures through the bar and constituted as a yielding clamping element for holding portions of the sheer instep in said apertures, yieldable elements constituted as bottom closures for said apertures and as means for efiecting holding cooperation between said element and the bar, a lever mounted on said pivot support having a long arm constituting a handle for clamping the fabric to the bar and carrying studs for telescopic relation to said apertures for pressing portions of the sheer instep into said apertures, said lever having spring-engaging surfaces adjacent to its pivot end and a short arm constituting a lever release handle, and a leaf spring mounted on the bar and cooperating between the bar and said spring-engaging surfaces of the lever to hold the lever in clamping position at one side of a given location in its path of travel and to hold it .in fabric-re- 20 ceiving open position at the other side of said given location.

WILLIAM DONALD EACHES. 

